United Airlines just wrapped a busy week. The carrier unveiled its newest Polaris lounge in San Francisco, complete with the CEO hosting a media preview event. It also increased its stake in Brazilian carrier Azul. And, in exciting news for domestic travelers, breakfast tacos are now available on board. The most significant news, however, might be the announcement that the Polaris aircraft retrofit is finally picking up pace. The company expects to update one aircraft every 10 days through the next couple years. That’s big news for passengers in business class, of course, but the economy class cabin sees a significant update, too. In terms of total passengers impacted the significance of the new economy cabin is hard to underestimate.
The first 777-200ER (N786UA) with the new cabin layout entered service on 20 April 2018, bringing with it the launch of a new economy class seat. Aspire by Rockwell Collins (nee B/E Aerospace) is the latest long-haul economy class seat to be launched by the vendor, promising improved knee and shin room and better torso support in the seatback. The seats will be installed on 55 United 777s as a retrofit solution.
We are excited to offer customers traveling on our 777-200 fleet a new Economy seat featuring updated design, with more living space and under-seat stowage. The Aspire seat was selected as a result of extensive customer testing and feedback as we look to provide customers with a comfortable journey on long-haul flights. – Mark Krolick, VP Marketing, United Airlines
Other improvements in the seat design include rear-facing power outlets and a recline mechanism that raises the front edge of the seat pan slightly. This recline offers an “advanced kinematic mechanism that cradles the passenger during recline while preserving maximum living space for each passenger.”
It is not quite a shell seat where the pan only slides forward but also not a traditional recline where the seatback only moves towards the passenger behind. Such designs historically were shunned by airlines for their more complicated mechanisms and higher maintenance costs. Seat vendors improved reliability to the point that airlines are putting more of these into service again.
Our Aspire seat offers airlines an enhanced comfort system for long-haul wide-body aircraft that can be configured to fit a specific brand, cabin and passenger experience. We’ve worked closely with United Airlines to incorporate its brand and industry-leading amenities to optimize their passengers’ flight experience. – Tom Plant, VP Seating, Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins is not the only company working on new designs for the seat recline. Optimares‘ Quadra seat drops the front edge of the seat down, creating something slightly more flat rather than the cradle position. It is a less common design but still innovative for passengers. In both cases the potential for better comfort, even as more passengers are squeezed on board, is a silver lining.
Read more: Can a new recline reshape long-haul economy travel?
And, make no mistake, the new seats for United do mean more passengers in the economy class cabins. The new layout is 3-4-3, delivering narrower seats to everyone. That offsets the “increased under-seat stowage and greater passenger living space due to the proprietary seat frame and leg structure” that Aspire offers. Then again, the narrower seat was a certainty for the new United Airlines 777 layout so anything that makes it slightly better for passengers should be celebrated.
The Aspire seat will also fly on the carrier’s 787-10 when it joins the fleet later this year. Rockwell Collins says it has other, not-yet-disclosed customers for the product on A350 and 787 frames.
Polaris Rollout Picks Up Pace
With the new San Francisco Polaris lounge open – and the photos are spectacular, both from the company and from passengers or media visiting – the project’s rollout appears back on track. Lounges were delayed and the aircraft retrofits took a hit thanks to seats not being ready on time. The newly revised schedule of one aircraft every 10 days for the foreseeable future is a nice adjustment from the prior erratic and uncertain schedule.
I mean, pictures cannot express how truly massive and spacious this lounge is! And the lounge goes on FOREVER – pictures cannot adequately capture its sheer length. Well done @united! #Polaris @flySFO pic.twitter.com/RnPqWUnJe5
— Michael (@real_jetsetr) April 28, 2018
It is worth noting that the layouts will not be 100% consistent even as the rollout moves forward. The first Polaris retrofits do not include United’s Premium Plus premium economy product. That will shift into service later this year, leaving United with multiple 767 and 777 layouts for some time to come.
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That looks like a very old IFE monitor and so much glare! Is that Rockwell system?
On these demo seats it is a Rockwell screen, I believe. UA has the newer Panasonic Avionics kit installed on board.
oh lord – those skinny armrests. I can’t stand the physical contact with the random stranger next to me. Southwest / JetBlue domestic… European carrier for international. Says this former UA customer.
Which foreign carrier? Most flying 777s to the US also have 10-abreast seating.
And Southwest’s new seats also have the super-narrow arm rests. That’s how the carrier claims wider seats on a plane where the fuselage and aisle didn’t change size.
Are the seats being updated at ORD? On landing today at about 6PM, I saw at least 5 777s sitting in hangars having something done. Seems like a lot of heavies to have grounded during the Europe departure bank.
The retrofits are being done in China (XMN/HKG) and take a few weeks to complete.
Totally unrelated, but the way you wrote that… masterful. Great hook. It’s what clickbait wishes it could be (but actually links to something substantial, not FIVE WAYS AIRLINES ARE SHRINKING SEATS, NUMBER THREE WILL SHOCK YOU – PILOTS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW).
Those seats look absolutely miserable. I sent UA customer services a note complaint about leg pains after a 4hr journey on the slim line. Not flying international on any for sure. Would not be surprised if they end up in lawsuits over inducing deep vein thrombosis. Let’s see.
What about them looks horrible? That they are economy seats? I sit in a lot of different economy seats as part of this job and these are towards the top of the quality/comfort scale. Painting with the “slimline” tag is using a mighty wide brush across any number of different products. The newest generation/iteration is a very different set of products from what started flying 5ish years ago. And there are notable differences in the long/short-haul products, too.
So Seth, how can you justify a better passenger experience when the seats are narrower? It doesn’t matter how much leg room you have when your upper body is squished next to a stranger. Within the propaganda you stated passengers where consulted, who in their right mind would agree to these seats? Why don’t you call it as it is, another means to squeeze more blood out of a turnip to increase revenue. United isn’t the only carrier doing this, but I find it offensive to spin the new seats as something good.
Narrower than what? Is 3-4-3 worse than 3-3-3 on a 777? Generally yes. Are these seats awful? Generally not.
Someone suggesting that these are going to deliver the same experience as those on the old 737s or A320s is, in my professional opinion, mistaken. And the overall passenger experience is driven by a blend of factors. Everyone has different priorities. A taller passenger often cares more about legroom than a short one. Some care more about wifi and some about in-seat IFE screens and some about live television content.
On a like-for-like basis comparing these 10-abreast 777 Y seats to those of the prior iterations I believe these are better.